Weather Forecast
by Enhanced Nero
Summary: Base on Chaos Paladin's 'His name is Brendan Birch'. After the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh, May now travels alone in Johto, competing in Pokemon Contest. She stumbles on a mysterious boy name Brendan Birch. They become friends and travel together through Johto. As May competes for Ribbons, she tries to uncover the secrets of Brendan and eventually they become more than just friends.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**I was inspired to write this fiction after reading 'His name is Brendan Birch' written by Chaos-Paladin and also as my own personal goal after reading the testimony of Clzh and Clzh-x when they (he?) wrote about 'Unfortunate Dichotomy: In Defense of Brendan Birch'. Both of these writings somehow made me a Hoennshipper, which made me search for other good Hoennshipping fanfics (which aren't a lot). **

**So instead, using Chaos-Paladin's fanfic as my base and starting point, I choose to write my own Hoennshipping fanfic, I really hope you all enjoy. **

**This first chapter will almost seem exactly similar (like a copy and paste) to what Chaos-Paladin wrote with a few adjustments of my own, so give the guy some credit and visit his page; he has tons of good Pokemon fanfics.**

**Just like Chaos-Paladin's story, mine is also going to be based on the anime instead of the game. Reasons being, the character is much more developed and there is a lot more room to maneuverer and develop my story because May's story is literally left hanging after the Sinnoh arc and Brendan's side is literally non-existent.**

**Enjoy =)**

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

**Chapter 1: His name is Brendan Birch**

May Maple, a fourteen-year-old Pokemon Coordinator has travelled far in order to become the best of the best. She has travelled as far as Mt. Pyre in Hoenn, to the very far ends of Snowpoint City in Sinnoh, to the magnificent Indigo Plateau in Kanto. And now her journey has taken her into Johto, where she will now try her luck and skill in the various Pokemon Contest that are held in the region and become a Top Coordinator. Just like how her best friend Ash did, she decided to travel through the various regions for the contests and compete for the ribbons. Her travels so far hadn't been anything special, though there were the occasional situations where things got risky and became dangerous, like how a colony of Ariados and Spinarak strung their webs around the forest and May accidentally trampled over it causing the colony to chase after her or like how a herd of Stantlers stampede through the city, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, especially with her all – time partner and first ever Pokemon, Blaziken there to save the day. To be honest, unlike her adventures in Hoenn or Kanto, Johto seemed to be pretty uneventful.

That is, until today…..

"Uwaah…. It's such a great day to travel!" May yawned, travelling down the road towards the next town. It would take a full day to reach Azalea Town and eventually her next contest, hoping to add another ribbon to her ever expanding trophy case. Given her progress so far, things seem to be going without a hitch. However, she felt like she was missing something. Not the ones relating to Pokemon or contest, but more in the sense of what she had when she travelled with her companions, Ash and Brock.

"Man it sure is different travelling alone, but at least I don't have to clean up after anyone. I'll show everyone what I can do!" May exclaimed. She wasn't going to let a little bit of loneliness stop her from accomplishing her dreams.

However, something further down the road gave her another reason to stop.

A few meters ahead, she could see a boy sprawled on the middle of the road. The boy wore a black fleece suit with red outlines, a black, red and white headband, and black shades. May almost mistaken the boy's hair was white, although after further inspection it was actually some sort of spiky hat that was sewed together with his headband. His real hair was black from the small strands she saw coming out from his knit cap. It made him look unusual, but to May it was even stranger to see someone on the ground in such a way.

"Oh my, is he alright?" In a hurry, May dashed towards the boy, crouching next to him.

"Hey, are you alright?" She tapped slightly on the boy's chest, in case he was just sleeping in the middle of the road.

No response.

"Hey, really, get up. It's dangerous to sleep in the middle of the road," She tried to awaken him, but it was to no avail. Her fears started to climb. Obviously, the boy wasn't in good health.

'_Don't panic, May. Let's check and see if he's at least alive…'_

She placed her ear onto his chest and listened for a heartbeat.

…Badump… Badump….

'_Thank goodness, he has a heartbeat. But… maybe he's suffering from something and collapsed. His heart rate seems a bit low…'_

She battled with her conscious to determine the best thing to do. The boy was indeed breathing, but his breathing was very low, almost inaudible.

"Hmm…..if he can't breathe right, then I'll need to…. I'll need to…" A tint of pink formed on her cheeks, realizing the procedure she might need to perform.

CPR.

'_I can't do such a thing to a stranger! But, if I don't help him, he could die…'_

This was a small dilemma for May. She'd never kissed a boy before, and it was a bit embarrassing to even consider. The fact she didn't know the boy whatsoever did not help this fact. However, a life was on the line and she wasn't the type to leave someone in need.

Besides… this one wasn't going to count.

"Okay, here I go….." As she leaned over the boy's head, she couldn't help but notice that he had a really cute face. Deep down, that helped the procedure flow just a tad bit smoother.

'_His face looks so innocent and young, though he's probably around my age. His lips look really smooth too. I wonder how soft it feels… wait a-no, no, no! Bad girl! I'm supposed to be trying to help the boy, not think about kissing him!'_

After inhaling deeply and pinching his nose, she placed her lips over his mouth and blew in air. Her faced gained a deep red colour, surprised with the smoothness of the boy's lips. She was almost disappointed that this 'kiss' wasn't going to count… though she was tempted to reconsider it. Once she applied enough air, she placed her hands over his solar plexus and began pressing down.

"Come on, come on…!" She was honestly worried that this wasn't going to work, but she was at least going to give it one more shot. It wasn't because she just wanted to feel his lips again, though she could possibly call that a secondary objective. She leaned forward again to repeat the CPR.

But a gentle hand landed on her cheek.

"There's no need for more air. I am fine," the boy said calmly.

May froze with a dark blush on her face. The boy's hand felt really soft, like his voice. Unfortunately, this was no time for her to revel in the boy's caress.

"Ah!" She quickly fell back, landing on her bottom. Shock was written all over her face.

"Y-Y-You're awake!"

"That I am," Standing up slowly as if he was never unconscious to begin with, the unknown boy extended his hand to May.

She had to admit, the boy was a gentleman, with an emphasis on gentle.

"Huh? Oh, right, Um…..t-thanks…." Grasping his hand, the boy lifted May to her feet. The boy seemed pretty quiet, which was making her feel tense.

The boy's head tilted cutely, as though he was analysing her from a different angle.

"You seem a bit tense…. but happy…."

This caught May by surprise. How did he know that?

"W-w-what do you mean? I don't feel anything like that! Um, uh… a-anyway, take care of yourself better and don't sleep on the road. I really gotta get going, so see ya!" She stumbled as she walked forward. She almost lost balance but quickly composed herself and continued walking in a hurried manner. She didn't notice her trainer's card falling from the back pocket of her green waistpack.

"Wait…." Before the boy's words could reach her, May was far off, away from the strange lad. The young boy saw the card that she dropped and picked it up; inspecting what was written on it. He wore a curious look on his face, cupping his chin thoughtfully. Written on the trainer's card was a description about the girl he just met.

_**Trainer Card ID: 11203**_

_Name: May Maple_

_Place of Origin: Petalburg City, Hoenn._

_Birthdate: September 20__th_

_Trainer Class: Pokemon Coordinator_

"May Maple…..how interesting," the young boy looked back at the trainer's ID that he now knows as May and back to where she had gone to. He smiled at a thought he just remembered a long time ago.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

May couldn't stop blushing madly as she ran down the road. She had no idea what was wrong with her, but what that boy said…..it was unbelievably accurate. The problem was that she didn't know why she felt so happy. Tense, definitely. After all, someone wakes up and sees that you are about to place your lips on theirs, it would seem extremely awkward. But his words were so calm, contrast to what she would expect from someone in a position like that. She got a strange feeling from that boy, like as if she had met him once upon a time, but couldn't pinpoint it to save her life.

'_Maybe it was someone she saw during her travels'_

Oh well, wasn't like she was going to meet him again anyway. It was time to move on.

But then…why did that thought make her feel a little sad…..?

A full day later, May had arrived at Azalea Town. After booking a room in the Pokemon Center and letting Nurse Joy take a look at her Pokemon, she head to the Contest Hall to register herself for the upcoming Pokemon Contest.

At the registration counter she faced a problem she didn't foresee.

"Is something a problem Miss?" the lady over the counter asked May, she needed the identification card of May to verify that she was an eligible trainer and Pokemon Coordinator.

"Just a moment…." May took out her waistpack and started rummaging through each and every single pocket for her Trainer's ID. She knew she left it in there somewhere, she remembered taking it out and using it to enter her latest contest, the Wallace Cup, which was held in Lake Valor of Sinnoh. That was almost a month ago!

She searched and ransacked through each pocket, taking each item out and placing it over the counter so she wouldn't miss the item she seek. May's heart went a notch faster that moment.

'_Where is it? I knew I put it here somewhere. Wait…. What if I've lost it? Will I never be able to compete in contests again? Will they take away my Pokemon? Blaziken? Venusaur? Glaceon? What will Max say? What will my parents say? Will they be disappointed that I've gotten so careless?'_

A whole jumble of thoughts and scenarios ran through May's head as she took out every single item from her waistpack. The registration attendant noticed May placed her Pokedex over the counter and her overly-worried face.

"Umm…Miss. Is that a Pokedex?" pointing at the pink –rectangular object that looked like some kind of hand phone with a blue dot where the screen would flip (look up Johto Pokedex for Generation IV).

May momentarily snapped out of her apocalyptic thoughts as the question was given by the attendant.

"Y-Y-Yes," she replied, trying to keep her voice as calm and collective as possible.

"Well then you shouldn't worry miss, as all Pokedex holds a digital record of their respective trainers including the information on the Trainer's ID," the attendant said.

'_Thank Arceus'_

May found a moment to relax as the explanation given by the attendant kick in. Clearly she's never been in this situation where she had lost her Trainer's ID or had to use her Pokedex to verify her identity, usually Brock would remind her the importance of it and ask her to double check where it was and only Ash and her little brother Max would be the one to tinker and find out what other functions the Pokedex could do, for her, the Pokedex was simply a tool to know more about Pokemon. Just point the camera towards a Pokemon and it will give out all the information needed.

Another reason that reminded her how good it was travelling with friends.

May handed over her Pokedex and returned her possessions back to where it belonged, mentally memorizing over and over again the placement of each item so that she wouldn't be caught in this situation again.

The attendant took May's Pokedex and plugged it into the computer. She pressed a few key strokes and May's trainer's information was shown over the monitor.

"It's May Maple is it? Your trainer's ID number is 11203. You have a contest pass for Hoenn, Kanto and Johto and are now in possession of 3 ribbons from Johto with your latest contest, the Wallace Cup held in Lake Valor of Sinnoh," the attendant read out the information laid out for her.

"Yep, that's me," May beam up at what the attendant said, grateful that everything worked out ok in the end.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Contest of Azalea Town, the contest will be held tomorrow at 10.00pm here, you are coordinator number 13"

"Thank Arcues," May said in gratitude. After registering for the contest, May slumped over to a nearby seat. She felt so exhausted for no apparent reason. Maybe it was because she is still fresh from her travels in Sinnoh and is only now experiencing the jetlag. May sighed at her current predicament; she placed her elbows over her lap and buried her head in her palms. Maybe she was feeling a bit lonely after having to part ways from Ash, Brock and her new best friend, Dawn. The company they gave her made her so relaxed and peaceful that she didn't have to get worried over anything, especially about where she would have misplaced her Trainer's ID.

It wasn't that she didn't have any friends over here in Johto, there was Drew, Solidad and Harley who were also competing in the various contest around Johto. But unfortunately, they parted ways due to the fierce rivalry between them and when May heard about the Wallace Cup being held in Sinnoh, she had to completely diverge from where her friends were in order to get a head start in obtaining ribbons, which wasn't working out because not only did she didn't get a ribbon from Sinnoh but by the time she came back to Johto she got wind that Drew, Solidad and Harley were leading in the numbers of Ribbons they had compared to her and thus couldn't wait for her to pick up where she had left off.

She couldn't blame the others for leaving her behind. That was what rivalry and competition is all about, overtaking the other and being the best among the best. If they did continue travelling together it would have made the competition all a bit sourer because everyone would have known what to expect of the other and there wouldn't be any surprises. Something she wouldn't have had to go through while she was travelling with Ash and Brock because, unlike Drew, Ash aspired to compete in the Pokemon league and fight in gym battles which focused on strength, skill and strategy instead of her contests which focused on elegance, control and creativity, while Brock just came along giving both her and Ash pointers on how to raise their Pokemon better since he was a veteran Pokemon breeder.

Oh how she missed Brock's cooking, he could almost make the finest of dishes even though they were camped out in the midst of nowhere.

Well, no use mopping now, she had a contest tomorrow and a ribbon to win. Her first priority would be to find her trainer's ID. She retraced her steps back to the Pokemon Center and asked Nurse Joy if anyone had found it.

Nothing yet.

Well, there's always tomorrow to go and search for it. For now she felt extremely tired for no apparent reason and quickly went to her room for a nice long rest, hopefully everything will be ok by tomorrow.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

_May was sitting by a tree, surrounded by endless fields of grass and a building that looked like some kind of laboratory. It was a beautiful atmosphere, but incredibly odd. She was positive this wasn't Azalea Town's Pokemon Center._

"_Where…am I?"_

"_RAAAAARRRRRR!"_

_May jumped at the deafening roar. She looked around and saw one of the biggest beasts she has ever seen in her entire life. It had blue scales, a long-whip like tail, its wings were crimson red and it had the fiercest and most terrifying face a monster could ever have, with those sharp fangs and claws. It was the Dragon Pokemon Salamence and it was HUGE, as in the size of a truck huge. It was flying up in the air with a rider on its back wearing a black uniform. And it was heading straight towards her!_

_May braced herself only to realize that the fierce beast just soared pass her, gliding to a halt in front of the laboratory where she could make out the figure of two kids. There was a young boy in red wearing a white knit cap, he was faced to face with the Draconic Pokemon and its rider as it landed in front of the duo, the young boy didn't budge from where he stood, his arms were outstretched in a protective stance. Behind him was a young girl in a white-sapphire dress with a tiara made up of flowers, she had neck-long blonde hair and her face showed terror as she cowered behind the young boy, holding onto his hands and trying to cover her face from the monster in front of the duo._

'_T-That's me!' after May further inspect the young girl. It was her when she was 8 years-old! _

"_So…this is the weather institute where it is rumoured the Pokemon League is keeping Rayquaza, where is it boy?" the black rider ask in a menacing voice, his Salamence roared, striking fear in the boy that stood in front of the younger May._

"_L-L-Like as if I'll tell you"_

"_Look boy, the way I see it if you don't want yourself or your cute girlfriend behind you hurt, then you might as well tell me"_

"_No!" the young boy took a Pokeball from his belt and threw it at the ground. White light erupted from the Pokeball and came out a small blue amphibious creature that was on all fours with yellow gills over its cheeks and a tail-like fin and another sensory fin over its head. It was a Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon._

"_Skipper, I choose you!" the boy exclaimed._

"_Ohh…you want to battle me and my Salamence? Do you even know the sheer difference in power between my Pokemon and your puny frog?" the rider said mockingly. The small mudkip growled at the comment given to it, it held its ground even in the presence of the gigantic beast._

"_You don't scare us! Skipper and I will become the greatest Pokemon Master and we will defeat you!" the young boy stated, reaffirming his mudkip's growl._

"_Hmpphh….as if"_

"_May don't worry, I'll protect you," the young boy said to the frightened young girl behind him. The young girl's eyes glittered at the comment gazing at her would-be hero._

"_Skipper, tackle that Salamence!" _

_The small Mud Fish Pokemon charged towards the Dragon Pokemon. It rammed head first into the beast only to bounce back, the Salamence clearly unfazed._

"_Hah, you see….my Salamence is far more superior against your little frog"_

"_Skipper, don't give up, try using water gun!" the young boy said, still not losing any hope._

_Mudkip steadied itself and started spitting streams of water from its mouth. The only thing the Mudkip was able to do was give the Salamence an early bath._

"_Hmm…..Salamence use Dragonbreath"_

_A torrent of green flames erupted from the mouth of the beast hitting the small amphibian knocking it to the ground. _

"_Skipper, are you ok?" the young boy's voice filled with worry and fear. _

"_Mud….k-kip….mud," the small Mud Fish Pokemon replied, its voice showed that it was badly bruised from the previous strike. It was standing shakily on all fours, it seemed that the small amphibian was almost about to collapse to the ground._

"_Hang in there little guy," the young boy said, his hands were clenched into a tight fist; his brow was sweating as he looked on his partner being beaten like a pulp._

"_This is getting exhaustingly boring…. Salamence end this now with Dragon Claw"_

_Everything happened so fast. The young boy suddenly ran in front of his Pokemon, pushing it aside and out of the line of fire. Dragon Claws was upon him as they strike down from above. _

"_LOOK OUT!" both the real May and the younger one shouted._

May jolted from her bed, she was panting from the dream she just had. Her whole body was sweating from the experience she had gone through. The visions of the dream she just had were still clear in her mind.

'_What was that!?'_

She lifted herself up from her bed and tucked her feet closer in an effort to comfort herself. Now she remembered. The dream she just had was a past experience she went through when she was eight years old. During that time, her father was finally allowed to open a gym and become gym leader, so she would follow him to certain meetings with important people because it allowed her to travel around Hoenn.

May buried her face into her knees; her eyes were still watery from what she had just seen. From that moment on as May could recall, she develop a phobia with lizard-like Pokemon, and ultimately didn't found any interest in Pokemon afterwards because they were sometimes creepy and brought back bad memories, that is…..until she met Ash and Brock who showed her the exciting world of Pokemon.

'_Don't worry May, it was all just a dream, it's all in the past now. Just like what Dawn would say, no need to worry'_

While she was trying to calm herself from one of the worst experiences she could recall, a thought suddenly popped up in her head.

'_Who was the young boy that stood guard in front of her?'_

She tried remembering back to her childhood. It seemed like ages ago. Somebody she made friends with from kindergarten? Maybe the son of one of the other gym leaders? A neighbour or relative maybe?

May scrambled her head trying to recall who the young boy was. In all honesty, much of her memory was broken due to that incident. Her encounter with the Dragon Pokemon left her scarred for life which she would never want to recall back, leaving gaps in her memories while she was a child.

Whoever the boy was, she hoped he was still alive and well. She couldn't recall the exact face the boy had, but knew that whoever the boy was, he was someone special in her life while she was a child.

'_May don't worry, I'll protect you'_

The voice of the young boy was both soothing and reassuring, May felt calm just by remembering that voice. It was like he wasn't afraid to face danger in the eye and that he actually meant no harm will come to her.

For now, she thought, she would keep her mysterious guardian's identity at rest, whoever he was can wait. May looked over the digital clock that was placed at her bedside. It showed 8.01am, just enough time to get ready and have breakfast at the cafeteria and then go for her contest where she will finally obtain her fourth Johto ribbon.

May quickly dashed to the bathroom and changed into her spare clothes. When she exited the bathroom she noticed a note under her door, someone must have slid it last night while she was asleep.

"Heh, maybe it's a love letter…." She joked. Picking up the letter, she read the contest. It was incredibly simple, hand-written with blue ink.

Don't enter the contest. You're in danger.

"What in the name of Arceus? Is someone trying to psyche me out?"

It was a bit unsettling that someone would send a strange letter. However, she wasn't going to back down just because someone said so. There might be a trap for her, but she would go through it no matter what. She's been in tougher situations before and it isn't the first time someone tried sabotaging her contests.

"Well, time for my contest"

Prepared to face any uncertainties, she bounded out the door, bringing along her costume for her contest, she went downstairs to have her breakfast and make a quick check-up on all of her Pokemon for one last time before her big performance. By 9.30am May was already heading to Azalea Town's Contest Hall.

At the contest hall, she did her walk-in registration and went to the girl's changing room to change into her contest outfit. She wore a pink half shirt with a yellow heart on it with yellow borders on the sleeves and neck. She also wore a peach veil with a green gem on top and a light purple long skirt with a piece of pink fabric at her waist. Her entire midriff was exposed, giving her an elegant beautiful look which could melt the hearts of many men. She also wore brown flip-flops with a toe ring and a yellow necklace with a red heart over it. May looked at herself in the mirror, contempt with how beautiful she was. It took a fortune for her to buy the outfit, but once she was able to obtain it, she was as stunning as any girl would have been. Her contest outfit was unique in a sense that it was the traditional clothing worn by the Princesses back in Hoenn in the far areas of Hoenn's mountain range and desserts. Instantly when she debuted in Johto wearing this outfit, her fans started calling her the 'Princess of Hoenn' because she was known as gym leader Norman's daughter and one of the few outstanding female Pokemon Coordinators from Hoenn, which was usually known to be dominated by guys.

She twirl in front of the mirror looking at her reflection one last time before heading to the coordinator's waiting room while she waits for her turn to put up her performance. She was planning on showing off her Venusaur's Petal Dance combined with a powerful Solar Beam as a finale, judging from how sunny it was.

Clearly it was her luck that the day was so beautiful, there didn't seem to even be a cloud in the sky. Funny, since she just heard that the forecast for today's weather would be dark clouds, but who was she to complain?

Once the contest started, May was ploughing her way through the competition. She was among the top coordinators for the appeal rounds, ranking first among all the other coordinators. Her Venusaur made a spectacular performance with its Petal Dance and Solar Beam combo. Her Venusaur wasn't even affected by Petal Dance's confusion effect since she and Venusaur had been training hard to make it right. If this keeps up, then this contest is as good as hers.

During the battles, however, she started feeling odd. Through the difficult aspects of the contest, her head would begin to pound very hard. Her body also started to feel heavier and hotter as the hours passed by. She noticed that this odd feeling started ever since she met that boy on the road, but it was very subtle back then. Perhaps she caught some kind of flu from him when she…..

She could not even complete that thought, given how embarrassing it was.

Several battles later, the feeling started to get worse. Not only that, but since the contest began, it felt like she was being watched closely. By who, she didn't know. But with this strange sickness that was overcoming her; she considered that it was planned so she wouldn't be able to perform in the contest.

Everything was too much of a coincidence.

Sitting on a bench, May was waiting for her next battle to come up. She and her mighty Blaziken have been kicking butt in the battle rounds, they were almost unbeatable. Now, it was the final match before she acquired her fourth ribbon. But with her condition getting worse and worse, it seemed as though it really would be a bad idea to continue the battle. The fever she got was getting stronger by the minute. But she couldn't stop here, not when she was so close. Though Blaziken was very worried for her sake seeing May in such a condition, she needed to push herself a bit more until she obtained her prize.

'_I can't let this fever get to me. I just need to get done with this one thing….then I'll worry about a little cold…'_

Ding! Dong!

'May Maple, will you please report to the arena for the final round," The announcer requested over the intercom.

"That's my cue. Time to win me that….that…"As May stood up, her vision suddenly grew blurry and her legs felt like gelatine. The pain in her head shot through the roof, to the point that it was unbearable. The last thing she remembered before fainting was someone catching her fall from behind.

'_No…my contest…..not like this…'_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"_Come on May, hurry up!" the voice of a young boy called over. His face was obscured from her view because he was leading and was already far ahead of the hill._

"_How much further are we supposed to go? My feet are killing me already!" an eight-year old May shouted back._

"_Just a bit more….. I want to show you something that I found while exploring around these areas," the boy explained. He was further up the hill than May who was trying to catch up from behind._

"_How in the world did you find these places? You've only moved into Littleroot town like a month ago," _

"_I followed my dad around and help him out with his research. It's amazing what you could find out about Pokemon and where they would take you. You should try it May…."_

"_Hmmph….traveling is so tiring and so many problems will happen if I'd travel around…." May complained._

"_We're here May," the boy stopped as they reached the hilltop. May was still rambling about how hard it was to travel around._

"…_..Besides, how am I supposed to go shopping or eat exquisite dishes, it's not like there's ….anything … fun…..to do….." May stopped midsentence as they have reached the hilltop. The young boy helped May up to get a better view of the scenery._

_May was speechless as she gazed upon the scenery before her._

_Overlooking the hilltop was a beautiful sapphire lake. The water glittered as the morning sun shone over it. The lush green trees and vegetation surrounding the lake brought a mist from the morning dew, bringing in a calm and tranquil feeling to the environment. But what truly made the scenery beautiful were the colorful Bug Pokemon that were hovering over the sapphire lake. They're colorful wings sparkle as they flutter and danced across the lake creating an illusion akin to flying diamonds and rainbows._

_It was breathtakingly beautiful._

"_Pretty isn't it?" the boy asked._

"_Pretty? It's beautiful…" May replied, still trying to take in the magnificent scenery before her._

"_And that isn't the best part. The name of this place is called Lake May"_

"_Lake…May?"_

"_Yep….. Just like you May, beautiful, magnificent and full of surprises"_

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

May's eyes suddenly snapped open, awakened from her slumber. Looking around, she recognized the wooden ceiling fan that was spinning, hanging from the beige ceiling. She could tell she was in her bed and her red and white striped comforter was pulled over her body.

'_This is my room' _

She was still in her Pokemon contest outfit, but her pink veil was gone. Glancing to her right, she could see the tiny hallway that led to the bathroom. On the table next to her, her Pokeballs were neatly set on top along with her missing veil which was neatly folded under the Pokeballs.

Checking her left side however, she found something that wasn't there before yet was very familiar.

"You're awake," the mysterious boy said, sitting comfortably on the recliner. He was still in his red-black fleece suit along with his white-knit cap and black shades, obscuring the colour of his eyes yet still allowed people to know that he was wide-eyed if they look closely.

May shot up in her bed, pointing at the boy she recognized on the road the other day.

"You!"

"Calm down May. You've been asleep for over six hours"

May stopped abruptly at how calm the boy spoke to her. It didn't sound like a command or an order, and that made May slowly and calmly obliged the request. She tried taking in what the mysterious boy had just said and realized something.

'_Has he watched over me for that long? But if he's here, then that means…' _

May's cheeks burned at the realization.

"So, um, were you the one who took me to my room?"

"Correct, although technically it was Nurse Joy who helped you get into bed"

"And you've been watching over me the entire time?"

"I've been watching you since you've arrived in Azalea Town"

'_Since I've arrived? But that would mean he was the presence I felt earlier'_

May couldn't help but wonder whether she should be flattered or spooked. Was this guy some quiet stalker? There were a lot of questions and she didn't know where to start off with. She tried putting up everything she knew so far which made her realized something.

"You!" May pointed to the boy.

"You're the one who sent me that letter threatening me to quit the contest!"

"Correct again, although May, you choose to ignore my advice," the boy said calmly.

'…..Whoa.' This was a bit too intense for May. First she had this strange sickness and then she came face-to-face with her stalker who was none other than the boy she saved back on the road.

"H-H-How…do you know my name? I don't remember giving it to you"

"Well, you drop this while you were hastily running away from me," the boy took out a white card with May's picture on it. It was May's Trainer's ID. He passed it to May whom easily accepted it and placed besides her Pokeballs.

"…Thanks…"

"No problem, my name is Brendan Birch, you may call me Brendan," the boy said, a sweet smile formed on his face which made May blush a little.

"….Brendan….Birch…." May spoke quietly to herself. The sound of Brendan's name came naturally to her tongue as if she was acquainted with it before. Like a half remembered memory. She couldn't really put it where, but it was like she recognized the name before but somehow it got lost in the jumble of experiences May went through. She tried racking her brains, but she couldn't really remember during her childhood anyone who had that name.

"This isn't making a whole lot of sense…" May exclaimed.

"Ohhh… Why?" Brendan perked up as he tried to be inquiring to what was on May's mind.

"Ever since I meet you, I've had this weird fever, and you're telling me that you've been watching me since I arrived in Azalea Town and that you wanted to warn me about my fever and quit the – Oh no, the contest!" Now that she remembered, she was sure her opponent won by default. She buried her face into the palm of her hands; sadden at how things turned out.

'_And there goes another ribbon in a month'_

Her eyes started getting watery from her predicament. Two contest in a row and in a month no new ribbons. These were not good times for May….

Brendan then slowly patted May on the shoulder in an effort to help ease the pain.

"I'm sorry for what happened….." Brendan said calmly. Small tears have already started to form on May's face and she began to give out light sobs.

"….But if it would make things any better. I've tried talking to the people in-charge of the contest and they agreed to postpone the final match until the day after tomorrow"

May's light sobs and tears stopped momentarily at the news Brendan told her. She was in utter bewilderment.

"H-H-How?" May asked, a bit sceptical. It was very rare that the people organizing the Pokemon contest would postpone the final match because they had a tight schedule. Brendan smiled at the question.

"Well…. Let's just say that I had a long talk with the organizers of the Pokemon contest and thus, I was able to convince them to postpone the final match due to your illness," Brendan explained.

"J-J-Just like that?" asked May.

"I won't lie. There's more to that story, but that's the simple version. Honestly to put it, it was your reputation as a coordinator that helped the organizers understand the need to postpone the final match, you should be proud of how much you've achieved so far"

'…_..you should be proud of how much you've achieved so far….'_

The words resonated in May's head. Brendan's voice was so calm and so tranquil that each syllable could drown May in an ocean of tranquillity. A thought suddenly popped into May's head.

'_What if they were to travel together? Could she be able to hear that sweet voice over and over again? Wouldn't it be great to hear that voice after each of her competitions? That calm and tranquil voice. And then when she came back home from becoming a Top Coordinator she would come back and meet Brendan and their home just to listen to his – Wait a minute! STOP! STOP! What in the world are you thinking?!'_

May's face reddened at the slight thought. She faced Brendan who was still looking at her, or what she thought as him looking at her through those dark shades that obscured the colour of his eyes. Truthfully, it made him all the more mysterious, which made May more curious of Brendan.

"Thanks for everything. I guess it can't be helped, considering I was too sick to even-"

"What you had was not a fever"

"…. It wasn't a fever?" May asked confusingly.

"When you were checking me two days ago, you were worried that something bad happened and performed CPR, right? One thing I should point out was that I was actually sleeping"

May had just reached a new world of confusion and embarrassment.

"WHAT? But I shook you awake and everything..!"

"You did wake me up. I was awake around the time you started checking my heartbeat. It would've been obvious if you took off my glasses"

"AH!" now that May thought about it, she should have taken off his glasses to see if he did wake up. But if he was already awake, then that would mean…..

"Does that mean you had lain still on purpose to fool me?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, I was merely curious on what you were going to do. But when you performed CPR on me, you inhaled some of my air. Because you were sensitive to it, your body had a strong reaction to it. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough"

If May thought things were confusing before, she was well muddled now.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute! You're telling me that when I inhaled some of your air, it caused me to get a huge fever and faint?"

"Like I said, it wasn't a fever"

"Then what was it?"

"Withdrawal symptoms"

"Eh?" Of all the answers she was expecting, that wasn't it. She had no idea what it meant.

"Your body went through withdrawal from not receiving my air. The idea is similar to taking in an addictive drug. If you don't receive a daily dose of it, you will go through a withdrawal phase, craving for more. In your case, it's similar to a bad cold.

Either May's life turned into some kind of sci-fi weirdness, or this guy was full of hot air.

"So, you're saying that you produce some kind of strange bacteria in your body that makes people who breathe your air go through withdrawal after a while?"

"Strange bacteria? Pfft…..hehehehehe…." Brendan chuckled, straining to hold it back.

"What's so funny? Someone could die from something like that!"

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that, it is a rather interesting view of it. The air I breathe isn't something supernatural, though it can become a bit odd. You were feeling another kind of emotion when you performed CPR on me. I don't know what you felt when you wanted to do CPR on me, but I think it wasn't just you trying to save my life, was it?

May almost fell of her bed in shock, her body turning bright red.

"W-W-W-WHAT?! Why that's nonsense! I-I mean…"

"It's alright. I won't make fun of you or say something improper if you speak honestly. The reason your body went through withdrawal was because emotionally you wanted something. I don't know exactly what you wanted and I'm not going to inquire about that any further because I respect your privacy, but if I had to make a wild guess I would say that judging from how you're currently travelling all alone by yourself, you felt lonely and you yearn for company and friends….."

'_So the reason I had a huge reaction was because… I felt lonely?'_ May was silent, but her face said it all.

It was pretty darn accurate.

And Brendan's smile noted that he was content with that fact.

"B-B-But why have I never heard of this before? How in the world could someone have withdrawal symptom with somebody that they've just met?" May stated out.

"I've been on my journey by myself for quite some time and I've met a lot of people while on my journey. I don't want to say that you're not such a great guy Brendan, but why in the world didn't I have a reaction with any one of them? Why was it with you who I met just recently that I had a reaction to?"

Brendan was silent for a while, trying to think up of a good answer.

"I'm no expert on the mysteries of the human race, but to put it simply….." Brendan took a deep breath before continuing. May straighten herself to listen to Brendan's explanation.

"Our world is filled with mysterious and incredible things that we may never understand, those subjects include the power of Pokemon and their special abilities over nature but Pokemon aren't the only beings that could have mysterious abilities. In very special cases and I mean a one in a million case, humans can somehow tap into this power and have weird powers themselves, it's very rare, but not unheard of, the most famous examples are the Aura Guardians. To put it frankly, I also possess strange abilities that I got while I was little and because of my ability, it gave a reaction to how you felt when you performed CPR on me," Brendan explained.

"….Y-You're an Aura Guardian?" May asked dumbfound. Brendan chuckled at the conclusion that May made.

"Pffft….me an Aura Guardian? I wished. My powers are not base on Aura or the life force of the world that Aura Guardians usually would tap into"

Brendan continued. "A person's body contains enormous amounts of information. The air we exhale and the air around us produces special energy that contains information about us. Most people don't notice it, but those who are especially empathetic will be able to feel the emotions of the air they inhale from others. I was…gifted…to become extremely empathetic and sensitive to my surroundings that I can experience people's and Pokemon's emotions and can even note some personal information about that person or Pokemon, especially those that I have bonded and are close with because I'm continuously in their presence, as well as give information about me to those who has had a strong bond with me or are very empathetic themselves, in this case, that would be you"

May was dead silent when she listened to Brendan's explanation. It was so incredible and unbelievable that she almost couldn't believe that this mysterious boy had an even more mysterious power. But when May thought about it, it wasn't really that farfetched. She knew a few people who had special abilities; the easiest example would be one of her best friends, Ash Ketchum. She remembered once during their journeys in Kanto Ash was able to somehow wield the power of Aura with the help of Lucario. There were also other people she could recall who had strange abilities like Brendan's. Anabel, a member of the Frontier Brain had the ability to communicate and understand Pokemon telepathically. So for now, Brendan's explanation was to her, true.

Standing up, said person started heading for the door.

"That's all for now, I just wanted to make sure that you understand the situation better. I'll be sure to visit tomorrow around noon"

"Brendan, wait!" May called out. Brendan stopped halfway out the door and gave May his full attention. The girl took a deep breath, her chest feeling heavy from the rush of information and emotions.

"If all of this is true, and that's a big if…..does that mean that I will have to breathe your air for the rest of my life?" it was a scary thought that she might have to hang around with a guy for the rest of her years, one that she didn't even know.

Brendan had paused for well over thirty seconds, contemplating his reply.

"Well…..until we could find a way to solve this problem of yours…. Then that….is for you to decide," those were his final words before he closed the door.

May sat still, frozen with many thoughts. There was only one word that could clearly convey the feelings she was experiencing at the moment.

"AAAAARGH!" she screamed loudly, her feet kicking against the bed wildly. She fell back onto the bed, staring upward at the ceiling. Luckily, her fever was gone. Then what Brendan said was true.

She was really lonely and Brendan was her anti-drug.

Talk about ironic.

"This is ridiculous!" Flipping around, May stuffed her face into her pillow, feeling flushed. It didn't feel as bad of a situation as she would've normally thought, but it made things a lot more complicated. How in the world could she have contacted some strange disease from some random stranger sleeping on a road? Her parents and Max would've fainted if they heard about the crazy situation. Brendan didn't seem like a bad person, though he is unusually quiet. His expressions rarely changed, though when he smiled May could feel her heart leap in bounds.

Did she really miss the company friends could give? Was the separation she had with Max, Ash and Brock that strong that she could fell ill?

"This is just too much…! I need to sleep on it…" Speaking of sleep, did she receive Brendan's air while she was asleep? If so, did that mean he performed 'CPR' on her while she was asleep?

Fate was being very cruel.

"I need to get some rest and get my mind sorted out….." Overwhelmed with the craziness, it took May a good while before she was finally calm enough to sleep.

After all, she had a lot of questions to ask Brendan tomorrow.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day, noon arrived. As promised, there was a knock on the door. May was already awake and was in her normal travelling outfit by that time. She looked into the mirror to see whether she was presentable.

"May I come in?" as she expected, it was Brendan.

"Sure, come in," May led Brendan to the recliner as she took the bed.

"Did you come to give me a dose of your air breath?"

"Correct"

May had a question to ask, but it was too embarrassing to ask it directly.

"When you g-give me air….d-d-do you…..you know….what I mean is…how do you….d-d-d-do it?"

"I'll show you right now"

"WHA?" May blushed darkly.

"It's not mouth to mouth if that is what you're worried about"

"W-what?" It's not? I mean, I'm not worried about that –err, maybe a little. W-what I mean is…." The poor coordinator was fumbling over her words, embarrassed to death.

"Just open your mouth and inhale as the air comes in"

"Um..o-okay," as strange as this felt, May did as instructed and closed her eyes, preparing to take in Brendan's breath. Brendan couldn't help but blush, seeing her cute expression. The boy leaned in and exhaled deeply into May's mouth. As May inhaled, she was quickly filled with a pleasant feeling. His breathe felt warm and tasted sweet in her mouth.

'_This is so weird…but it feels good at the same time…!' _

"How do you feel, May?" May didn't respond. Her eyes were closed as she was trying to enjoy the feel of the air Brendan had just given her.

"Judging from the air around you, I assume you feel fine?" Brendan said, snapping May from her momentarily nirvana.

"Yeah…..thanks Brendan….." she didn't know how to put words to the air she just inhaled from Brendan. It felt good, but good was too simple. It was as if she could literally feel Brendan's warm presence keeping her loneliness at bay.

"Well then, I should be going. I'm sure you have things to take care of, so I'll let you be"

"Wait!" Surprising herself, May held fast onto Brendan's sleeve, stopping him. Catching herself, she quickly released it.

"I mean…. we barely know each other, yet I have to rely on you in order to not get sick. We can at least hang out together and learn about each other, right?"

If May didn't know better, she could've sworn he looked surprised, as well as a bit timid.

"Where would you like to go?"

"Hmmm…let's see…..how about a coffee shop?"

"Sure"

"Alright, let's go," both May and Brendan left the room to head towards the Pokemon Center's outdoor cafeteria.

There, the two sat down, drinking their juices. It was awfully quiet, and it was beginning to depress May. Twenty minutes has passed, yet barely a word was said. Brendan was staring into his half cup of juice. She wondered what was going through his mind. The silence however had to end before she went crazy.

"Um, so Brendan, where are you from? Judging from your looks you don't look like a local from Johto," May asked randomly to start the conversation.

"Well, just like you I'm from Hoenn, Littleroot town to be exact"

What?! May almost spilled her juice. He lived that close to where she was from? No wonder Brendan looked familiar; she must have seen him while she was traveling through Hoenn.

"You're from Littleroot town!?" Brendan nodded at May's newfound discovery. May tried racking through her memory, searching for Brendan's face somewhere in there. She felt like she knew him from somewhere, but for the love of Arceus, she couldn't really remember where or when she met Brendan before.

'_ok calm down, maybe he's just some distant friend from kindergarten or one of the boys who would come to her father's gym to learn more about Pokemon and battle strategies'_

May tried putting the little information she had about Brendan so that she would be able to recall him. She didn't know why, but it felt very important that she solved the mystery to Brendan's 'true' identity, like it was part of her life that was at stake.

'_Cute face… wears a white knit cap that looks like white hair…. calm and quiet….. Lives in Littleroot town….. First name Brendan….. Last name Birch…. Brendan Birch'_

'_Brendan Birch'_ May said the name to herself over and over again. Then suddenly a realization dawned over her. She gasped at the information she had just concluded. Brendan gave a smile at this as if he knew exactly what May had just realized.

"BIRCH!" May exclaimed.

"A-A-Are you somehow related to Professor Birch?!" May pointed towards Brendan. Shocked shown on her face.

Brendan's smile widened and nodded in affirmation.

"Professor Erman Birch is my father," Brendan said calmly. May was almost speechless.

"W-W-What!? How come I've never seen you before? If you were anyone else then that would have been forgivable, but as far as I could remember, I've hardly met you. And mind you, I've met Professor Birch quite a few times; he was the one who gave me my Blaziken while he was just a Torchic. And even after that I regularly update myself with him since he is Hoenn's most esteemed professor and a close friend to my dad, Norman Maple, the gym leader of Petalburg City," it was almost unbelievable, how could have May missed him? She must have seen him once while she visited the professor, she knew that Professor Birch had a wife because she met Mrs Birch once in his laboratory, but she's never seen Brendan before.

"I'm not surprised….. I rarely stay home, even if I did came back home, I rarely go out into the public," said Brendan. His expression didn't change a bit, as if the answer that he rarely ventured out his home or that he was rarely home to begin with was common knowledge.

"Where have you gone to that you rarely come back home? Are you a Pokemon trainer? I'm sure you're not a Pokemon Coordinator because I've never seen you in any competitions before. Do you travel around to compete in the various gyms around the region and enter the Pokemon League?" May asked demandingly. Gosh, getting answers from Brendan was like trying to get her Munchlax a bath. Brendan was so mysterious, even the answers he gave brought out more questions than answers.

"Yes, I'm a Pokemon trainer. What I do that I rarely come home…well let's just say I'm someone who has to travel around the various regions and keep an eye on things and to predict whether something would go awfully wrong and do everything in my power to prevent that from happening….so yeah, that's essentially what I do. Just like what you said, I don't compete in Pokemon Contest nor do I compete in the regional Pokemon Leagues, I did enter the Pokemon League but that was a long time ago," Brendan said soundly, his expression didn't change a tad bit.

May was trying to process all that Brendan said. Brendan's sixth sense was bizarre, but what he does as a Pokemon trainer was utterly confusing and sounded gibberish.

She must have heard wrong.

'_Keep an eye on things and to predict ' weather'? Was it some job that had to do with Weather Forecasting or something?'_

"Predict? As in like Weather Forecasting? Are you some kind of Weather Forecaster or something?" May asked inquisitively, she wasn't going to let Brendan go, she'll get the answers she wanted from him by crook or by hook.

Brendan's face lit up when May said 'Weather Forecasting', which May was quick to notice before his expression quickly went back to his calm self again.

"Yep….it's kinda like that"

'_By the love of Arceus, how in the world is one supposed to get answers from this guy!?'_

For now at least the information that he was 'some kind' of Pokemon trainer and that he was the son of Professor Birch would have to do. She made a mental note to ask Professor Birch personally about Brendan, funny how she never heard the Professor mentioning that he had a son, or he may have but she never paid attention. Even though Brendan was the son of Professor Birch, he still irked her somewhat. She still barely knew him and he was extremely quiet. Even if he was really cute looking, it would feel odd being with someone she didn't know.

"Sorry," Brendan said suddenly. He had a small, crestfallen expression on his face.

May felt a sting in her chest watching his sadden expression.

"Sorry? About what?"

"For the fact that I can't tell you more about myself….and also about yesterday"

"Yesterday, what did you…..oh," Now that she remembered, it was because of the withdrawal she went through that she fainted before her final match. Even though the boy was still wearing sunglasses, May was able to tell he felt bad for it. She felt a pang in her heart, realizing that that may have been the reason he seemed so withdrawn and distracted.

"Oh that? No worries. I should be thanking you for helping out in postponing the final match; all I have to do then is win it tomorrow. Plus I have more time, so no biggie! All's forgiven!"

"I see, I'm glad….." Brendan wore a shy smile on his face while he spun his cup in his hands.

'_So cute…..!'_ Okay, so maybe Brendan did get a few more points in her book, but the boy was still really awkward, especially the glasses. It was as though they were glued to his eyes. Oh well, everyone has a fashion statement they like to stick with.

"So what were you doing lying on the road anyway? It's not necessarily safe…..or normal," May asked, trying to get to know as much about Brendan as possible.

"I just happen to fall asleep there. I like sleep more than a lot of things"

'_WHAT?!' _more mysteries May thought, putting it aside she continued.

"Also, when I checked your heart rate and breathing, it was really low"

"I have really low blood pressure, which leads to low energy. That usually causes me to get sleepy quickly"

"Okay, that explains a lot…."

First he was the unknown son of Professor Birch. Second, he was a Pokemon trainer who didn't enter Pokemon Contest or compete in the Pokemon League anymore; instead he was someone who would watch the 'weather'. Third, he had some sort of strange power that allowed him to read people like a book and transfer some strange disease to other people. Lastly, he himself was sick and had to sleep often because he was often tired.

May mentally scratched her head. The information she had on Brendan so far only created more questions than answers.

Seriously, what did she have gotten herself into?

The rest of the day went by quickly with the two travelling to different hot spots and enjoying the wonders of Azalea Town. During the entire evening, the two barely spoke a word to each other. It made him very mysterious. Strangely enough, May was beginning to like that side of him. It made her want to learn more about him. The longer she stayed around him, the more her curiosity grew. She took notice of Brendan's simple habits. The way he walked, the way he talked, how he ate, it made May feel like some kind of stalker, but she was 'by Arceus' fondly curious of him. By the end of the day, Brendan and May returned to the Pokemon Center and were currently walking towards May's room.

While walking with him, May felt very relaxed. Ever since she began traveling alone, she knew she had a strong feeling of loneliness; the withdrawal symptom she got was proof of that. It was a great change of pace for once, but this brought out a new twist in her life. Because now she was forced to travel with Brendan through Johto for who knows how long. This brought about a difficult question.

"Brendan, about this needing to live thing….since I'm travelling throughout Johto, this means I have to be with you, right?"

"Correct"

"But, with all of this happening so suddenly, this means that our plans have changed a lot. Will I needing to go around Johto entering contests be a problem for you?"

"No. As long as I'm with you, there is no issue I cannot deal with"

'_Brendan….'_ After saying something so sweet, it's hard for her to see him as some kind of stranger. That's it, it's official, she'd found a good friend in Brendan.

"We're here," Brendan pointed out, referring to May's room.

"Well then, I think I'll retire for the night," May said. Her voice heavy in disappointment. She wanted to get to know more about Brendan. Brendan, sensing May's disappointment suddenly placed his hand on May's shoulder. She looked up to see Brendan smiling.

"Don't worry May, I'm sure we'll get to know more about each other as we travel more together, and I'm sure during that time we'll be great friends," his wide warm smile lit May's face.

"Brendan….." May didn't know how to respond to that. It was strange, how the boy of few words could say something so encouraging and how it filled her with so much hope and happiness. With this in mind, she retired to her quarters, shifting gears and preparing for her final contest battle tomorrow.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day, May woke up two hours early to get some preparation in. She could barely sleep after thinking so much about Brendan. Even though it's been such a short time, it felt as though she and Brendan had a special connection, like they were meant to be friends…and maybe more. May quickly dismiss that idea from her mind, it would do no good to ruin their budding friendship with a thought like that. She tried organizing everything she knew about Brendan so far, but no matter how much she thought, she couldn't make heads or tails of her new 'weather forecaster' friend. Combine that with preparing for her final contest match, she was a nervous wreck.

"Come on May, pull it together. First thing's first, I have to finish this contest, I have to finish this contest and then worry about Brendan, I doubt he'd go anywhere," with a deep breath, May opened the door, prepared to face the world.

But it seemed that the 'world', in the form of Brendan, was prepared to face her instead.

"B-Brendan!" May gasped. She was definitely not expecting him to be waiting outside for her.

"Good morning, May"

"What are you…did you actually….uh….what's up?" if she continued to encounter such surprises, she might get a heart attack before she turned twenty.

"I wanted to give you your dose today before your battle started"

"Oh, okay," Following the ritual, she opened her mouth and sucked in the air Brendan blew into her. Suddenly, her body felt different. Before, she felt tense and unease. But now, her muscles felt calmer, and her mind was clearer. It was like all of her stress was just dashed away.

"My, head, my body, I…feel so much better!"

"I prepared my mind and body to make sure it was completely relaxed. That way, you would feel the same when you inhaled"

May felt grateful by Brendan's thoughtful gesture. She didn't expect that.

"I see, thank you Brendan, I really needed it"

Brendan glanced to the side while scratching his chin, a sign of embarrassment.

"It was no trouble at all. Good luck in your match today"

"Of course, you can bet I'll win"

They both headed to the Azalea Town's Contest Hall after a quick yet silent breakfast the duo had at the Pokemon Center's cafeteria. Once May arrived, she quickly found herself battling the toughest coordinator in Azalea Town. The effects of Brendan's breath had astounding results. She was able to keep cool, calm and executed her strategies without fail. After a long and close battle, May came out on top and was awarded the contest ribbon for Azalea Town.

And it was thanks to Brendan's help.

May, beaming with excitement, dashed towards Brendan, who was sitting on the stairway entrance to the contest hall.

"Brendan! I won! I won!"

The professor's son expected no less, enjoying the sight of May's smile.

"You did very well. Good job"

"Ehehehe…..yeah!" May laughed shyly, rubbing the back of her head.

"But…..it's all thanks to you. When I received your breath, I felt so relaxed and calm. It was like I could do anything"

"Most of it was due to your own courage. I just…added a bit of my own," Brendan glanced away shyly.

'_Brendan's so cute when he's shy….' _May couldn't tug the feeling out of her mind that there was something more about Brendan than what she only knew as the son of Professor Birch. She dismissed the thought, hopefully in time she'll learn more about her mysterious new friend. After all the help Brendan has given her and the sacrifice he would do to follow her in competing in contest, the least she could do is respect Brendan's privacy.

"Well May, since I'll be following you from now on, I'm going into the city and get more supplies for our journey. I'll meet you back at the Pokemon Center by afternoon, is that ok with you?"

"Uhh…ok," May felt a bit disappointed that she had to get separated from Brendan. He's only going to get supplies she thought, but why in the world did she felt this tugging feeling from Brendan as if she couldn't let him go. And to be honest, she wouldn't have thought to buy more supplies when travelling with Brendan, hell, she had never thought to buy any supplies while she was journeying alone because she was so accustomed to traveling with her friends, always when problems arise either her friends were there or the Pokemon Center was closed by. Thank Arceus she had Brendan now to help her out.

"I'll wait at the Pokemon Center; I'll need to send my Pokemon for one last check-up before we hit the road"

"See ya there ok Brendan?"

They parted ways for a while. May was quick to head to the Pokemon Center, skipping along the road happy that she found a new friend to join her on her journey and the fact that she won her fourth ribbon, and she'd only barely travelled through Johto, there's so much more to do.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Brendan waited a while for May to be out of sight before he went back inside the Contest Hall. He didn't want May to know what he had to do to make sure May was able to compete in the final match. Clearly if he didn't act May would have been disqualified. He headed to the main office where he would meet the person in-charge of the event.

He hated keeping secrets from people, especially those closest to him. But if he told May everything, would she still want to be friends with him for who he was or because of his title? Too many times he made friends or to be more precise, fans and admirers, that would treat him with the utmost respect and grab every chance to aid him even if he never asked it in the first place. But as time progress, he felt that these 'friends' were only enthralled with his title and standing in society. Why wouldn't they be so engrossed with what he had accomplished? He did the impossible by becoming every young trainers dream in a span of a year where others would at least take ten or twenty years, and in most often of cases they never did achieve that dream.

To them, he was their beacon of hope and hero. So he did the only thing anyone with a heart would; he became the hope that everyone wanted to see. Eventually, things didn't go the way he would like them to. Yes, the popularity, fame, glory and gold that kept pouring into his pockets were so outlandish that it would make a layman die of disbelief if he saw what Brendan got from his position; but after two months he couldn't stand it any longer. His mentor told him that it was because of his youth, young people can't stay in one place for too long, and they yearn for excitement and adventure.

'_The young are like the weather, Brendan. Nothing can tame them nor do we need to, for they are best if never tamed at all. Go out and see the world Brendan, for that is what your heart truly desires'_

As a result, Brendan made the hard choice to give away his position to his mentor so that he could go out and see the world even more. His parents were more than supportive with the choice he made. He choose to continue to help his father's research to understand Pokemon and nature better by going through the different regions and seeing the natural world first-hand.

But even if he choose to become a researcher like his father, his accomplishments were still known by the public and that means they will still treat him as if he had never step down in the first place out of respect and fear of the power he wields. They would even go as far as denying him from erasing the title given to him from his trainer's ID. So Brendan had to stay low for a year, and thankfully with the help of his mentor and a certain friend who likes to collect rocks who thanks to himself, had went through the same thing he did; Brendan was able to make himself invisible from the general public. A phantom, a rumour, people knew about him but it was now lost in the ocean his mentor has created with his own popularity and fame.

And with that, after a full year, Brendan was able to finally hit back on the road and enjoy his youth along with his Pokemon who along with him were craving for an adventure.

Brendan was now in front of the door to the office of the person in-charge for this Pokemon Contest. He knocked the door, announcing his arrival.

"Come in," the voice of an adult was heard from the other side of the door.

Brendan turned the doorknob slowly and entered the office. Sitting directly across him was Mr Leonardo Contesta, Chief of the Pokemon Activities Committee for the Johto region. Brendan could swear he looked almost exactly like his brother from Hoenn, Mr Raoul Contesta. He sat in a lavish recliner with a wooden-handmade table in front of him. A few documents were stacked on the table, obviously about the next contest in Johto. Noticing that the person who came inside was Brendan, Mr Contesta quickly put down the documents in his hand and gave Brendan his full attention.

"Wea….." Mr Contesta called Brendan with his title but was stop half-way by Brendan when he raised his right hand in a sign of peace.

"No need for calling me by my title Mr Contesta, I'm fine with people calling me by my regular name, Brendan," Brendan said, taking a seat directly across Mr Contesta.

"M-M-My apologizes Wea… I mean Brendan. You surprised us with your sudden presence in our contest. I am truly sorry on behalf of the Pokemon Activities Committee. If you had told us sooner that this was the first time you witness a Pokemon Contest outside of Hoenn, we would have prepared a Pokemon Contest befitting for someone of your standing to witness. I even personally prepared the VIP lounges for you to use at your leisure if you so needed to rather than having to sit where the rest of the audience were"

"Thanks, but that wouldn't be necessary, the performance from the coordinators was more than enough. I am just glad you gave in to my request to witness the final match, now that was truly spectacular," Brendan changed his tone and style of voice to one that he usually used for those that only knew him from his title. He hated doing this, but his mentor reminded him that even though he had step down from his position he still represented the title and the hopes of everyone that look upon him, thus in such a situation he had to be formal and show a bearing that befitted his title else he would be trampling on the respect people were giving him. Something he further didn't like.

"That coordinator May is truly one of a kind, I've never seen a Blaziken leap into its own fire spin and successfully followed that up with a Sky Uppercut," Brendan remarked.

"Ahhh, her ability doesn't surprise me at all. She is from the same region as you are. When she first came to Johto to compete, she swept the first three contests we organized; truly she is, as Mr Sukizo would put it 'remarkable', now they call her the 'Princess of Hoenn'"

"Well then, I'm grateful that you were able to postpone the final match even on such a short notice," Brendan took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it over to Mr Contesta. Mr Contesta accepted it with a smile.

"This is a sign for my appreciation and gratitude for the show you've given me. Also, I think that the money would be more than enough to get all of you back on track, I understand how much problems I've caused for postponing this event and how it would affect all of your plans," Brendan said.

"I take my leave now Mr Contesta, it was nice meeting you. I think you've given me a new perspective on Pokemon Contest. I'm sure I'm going to see more contest after this. Who knows, maybe I'll enter one myself," Brendan said with a smile. Mr Contesta gulped when Brendan said he would want to try and compete in a contest someday, but he tried keeping his cool in front of someone like him.

"Y-Y-Yes, it was my honour aiding you W-Wea…. I mean Brendan, I wish you the best of luck in your journeys," Mr Contesta took Brendan's hand and shook it and then Brendan took his leave.

Still inside, Mr Contesta slowly peered into the envelope that Brendan had just given him.

"By Arceus!" Mr Contesta gawked and his face went pale when he counted the money Brendan had placed in the envelope. The money wasn't just enough; the amount of money inside could easily buy him a whole new cruiser and leave him filthy rich. Truly, he was glad he only had to meet the youngest among those that had 'that' type of position. The fact that Brendan was wearing shades that covered his facial expression only made him even more nervous. If he had to meet any of the 'others' with such short notice like what happened recently, he would have leaked in his pants out of embarrassment.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Brendan quickly exited the Contest Hall and went to the PokeMart to get the supplies he needed. He wasn't feeling comfortable with how things turned out, but he was willing to forgive it for May's sake.

It's been a while since he used his title to influence the decisions of other people and he hoped he didn't have to use it again. Not only was it plain cheating, but it also made Brenda bias. However, since May's sickness was something that happened without anyone expecting it and it was partially his fault, he had to take that course of action. Next time he would have to be more careful when going to Pokemon Contest, Mr Contesta would have by now recognized him. And thanks to the fact that he'll be accompanying May, he's more than certain that this won't be the last time he'll have to face Mr Contesta. Regardless, he'll think about that later.

After buying the necessary supplies and packing it all into his backpack, Brendan headed back to the Pokemon Center to meet up with May.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

May was sitting at the Pokemon Center's cafeteria while she waited for Brendan to get additional supplies. She already changed back to her travelling clothes; it consists of a green bandanna given to her by her mother, a red orange sleeveless T-shirt with a black collar, black bike shorts, black socks, and red and white sneakers. May packed her Contest outfit and all of the necessary items in her yellow backpack. Before this she only carried a waist pack and let her little brother carry everything else, but since she was travelling alone she had to carry all of her gear by herself which was tiresome. Hopefully with Brendan around she could lighten her load a little.

She was still trying to figure out about the mysterious boy who she just happened to meet on the road; it was almost a hobby now. She would even go as far as taking note on the little information Brendan gave out, like some reporter or detective. She once fantasized of being a reporter or a detective, the thrill of getting to the bottom of things and solving clues was one of the reasons she liked to travel so much. Whilst in her travels there were so much unknown occurrences that needed additional explanation and she enjoyed the adventure. Sometimes she'll start her own program called 'May's Expeditions' just to get the thrill of being a reporter and hopefully get a great scoop.

May saw Brendan walked towards her; she waved towards him and called him out, signalling where she was.

"Brendan…" May called out. Brendan went over to where May was and took out a chair.

"So are we ready to head out?" May asked.

"Yep, I've taken care of everything I needed to. I'm sure I'll enjoy our travels through Johto together," Brendan said while smiling to May. May's cheeks redden at the sudden declaration Brendan made.

"Of course, we're going to have tons of adventure together, so be prepared for a great journey across Johto with May Maple!" May exclaimed. Brendan's smile only became wider at May's own proclamation.

"I'll be in your care from now on, so please take care of me," Brendan said while tilting his head, acknowledging that May would be the one to lead the way.

"Haha, silly. That's my line," she said, still red in the face.

"Well, I've gotten everything I need taken care of. So let's head out," May stood up and exited the cafeteria; she was eager to head to the next city and finally obtain her fifth and final ribbon in Johto. Brendan followed suit, he made a worried look at May's eagerness.

"Ummm….. May. Where exactly are we heading?" Brendan asked, this put May dead in her tracks. She mentally slapped herself, she didn't put any thought into thinking where they were going to for her next contest. Usually her bearing is based on where Drew, Solidad and Harley would be, but with them far ahead of her, she had no idea where the next contest was, much less how to get there in the first place. Even the news that Azalea Town had a contest came from Solidad when she called her when she had just reached Johto from the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh.

Seeing that May was clearly lost, Brendan pulled out a yellow device from his pocket. It was a PokeNav and it was similar to Johto's PokeGear and Sinnoh's Poketch. They all had the ability to make calls but the PokeNav was more built for GPS tracking and finding routes through forests and desserts since Hoenn doesn't have that much of urbanization like Johto. Brendan's PokeNav has an additional feature; it can also keep track of all Pokemon-related events including news from the Pokemon League and the next Pokemon Contest.

"Here May, let me help," showing his PokeNav towards May.

"Is that a Pokenav?" May asked. The last time she saw a PokeNav was one belonging to her little brother Max which was given to him by their father. She remembered that Max's PokeNav had so many useful applications. She seen something similar in Sinnoh called a Poketch that Dawn wore like a wristwatch. She wished she had one.

"Yep, and mine also have access to news concerning all of the Pokemon-related events including Pokemon Contest, so let's see….." Brendan was tackled hug by May when he said this.

"Thank you so much Brendan for coming with me! I don't know what I've would have done without you," she embraced Brendan, not noticing how close they were in all the excitement which made Brendan a bit uncomfortable.

"It's….. the …..least I can do," Brendan said while May hugged him tightly. Releasing each other, May straightened herself up and stood next to Brendan to look over his PokeNav. Brendan scrolled down through the various applications until he stopped at 'Pokemon Contest', his face was still red from May's tackle hug but it didn't show thanks to his shades.

"Well based on this, the next Pokemon Contest is at Len Town which will commence around a months' time, we'll have to pass Ilex Forest where we'll meet half a dozen villages and a few Pokemon Centers. It's at least two weeks' worth of trekking through the forest if we don't meet any resistance and don't stop anywhere for too long," Brendan said, pointing at the map that was shown on his PokeNav. May looked at the small yellow device Brendan was holding.

Two weeks…..through a forest. May thanked her lucky stars that she was able to meet Brendan before she travelled through Johto any further. Harley would have laugh at her for not being able to find where the next contest was, not that he cared, and the idea of crossing a forest all by yourself wasn't something May looked forward to. She didn't like the idea of getting lost in a thick forest if the map shown on the PokeNav proved anything.

Now that there journey was set, it was time to make a move.

"Now that's settled, let's head to Len town and into Ilex Forest!" May exclaimed, she strike her fist skyward in a show of excitement. With her renewed energy and also a new companion, nothing will stop her from obtaining the Ribbon from Len town and finally winning the Johto's Grand Festival.

"Let us be off then," Brendan said, following May as they head to Azalea Town's north exit.

May could feel it in her heart, the joy and surprises that she went through today that made it so memorable.

The day she met a mysterious young boy who became her traveling companion in Johto.

His name is Brendan Birch.

**Author's Notes:**

**This has got to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written, with a staggering 13k words. And it's only the first chapter; hopefully I can continue this pace. All of this is all thanks to Chaos-Paladin, the one who inspired me to become a Hoennshipper and who also allowed me to use his story as the basis for mine. **

**I've just watched Pokemon XY series and I'm very happy with the quick-pace action packed battles. I really hope that the upcoming episodes will come out fast.**

**I'm right now playing Pokemon Soulsilver on my PC so I could get a better feel of where everything is and re-watching the Johto arc anime because there are so few cities and things happening in the games. **

**Review and Comment. How do you think my starting was? What do you expect would happen? What do you think will happen to Brendan and May while on their journey together? **


End file.
